Crush The Cage And Kill The Dove
by radioactive460
Summary: Emily's past and present collide when what should have been a simple consult with her former team takes an unexpected turn. Sequel to Russian Roulette.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N - This story is the sequel to Russian Roulette and contains characters introduced in that story.

* * *

Prologue

_Belgrade, Serbia 2003_

A shadow suddenly fell across the patio table as Emily crushed her cigarette in the ashtray. She had seen him coming: winding his way through the maze of tables, a briefcase in his hand with a portly dark-skinned man trailing in his wake. She lifted an arrogant gaze and leaned back in her chair.

"You're late, Ned." The annoyance in her voice was evident and Nenad Bankovic paused before taking the chair directly across from her. He set the briefcase on the ground between them. His stout companion fell heavily onto the chair next to him, coughing furiously into a handkerchief. "And who the hell is this? This was supposed to be a private meeting."

"Plans change. You of all people should know that." The mercenary glanced at the man next to him. "Besides, I think you'll thank me once this meeting is over."

Emily eyed Nenad's companion with some trepidation. There was something vaguely familiar about him. The man in question was tucking his handkerchief back into the breast pocket of his designer suite as he eyed Emily with interest.

"Lauren Reynolds, this is Juan Carlos Moreno. My new business partner."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the introduction. The name filled in the blanks of her memory and she found herself praying to any deity that might be listening. There was always this chance. The seedy underbelly of society may seem huge to the average citizen, but on the inside, sometimes it just wasn't big enough.

She turned her attention back to Nenad. "Business partner? Since when do you have a business partner?"

"Juan Carlos has an impressive export business out of Columbia, and our new partnership will go a long way in funding my cause. Including more merchandise from you. And as it happens, he is looking for a supplier."

Juan Carlos chuckled at Nenad's statement and Emily's lips thinned as she regarded him. Export business indeed. Juan Carlos was one of the most dangerous drug lords in Columbia. Calculating and ruthless, he managed to take out his leading competition several years ago: Andres Rojas. Rojas had been Emily's assignment until his untimely death.

The years since Emily last saw this man had not been kind to him. His dark skin was damp with perspiration, even in the crisp spring air, and his expensive suit strained against his bulk. In contrast, the small Serbian next to him was like a lean, coiled snake: ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Ms. Reynolds is it? Nenad said you were good, but he failed to mention how beautiful you are." The Columbian studied her with a predatory gaze for a long moment. Emily held his stare and refused to acknowledge the compliment.

His eyes narrowed as he suddenly leaned forward. "You know, Bella Dama, I'm usually terrible with names, unless the name is attached to a pretty face. And your lovely face reminds me of my old rival's supplier that I once tried to steal away from him. But I'm almost certain her name was Deanna, not Lauren." A small knowing smile quirked his mouth and he leaned back in his chair.

Emily turned back to Nenad. "Are we through with the small talk? I'd like to get down to business. I assume that's for me." She nodded slightly to the briefcase on the ground.

Nenad inclined his head as he lowered his voice. "You were able to get me everything I asked for? Even the RPGs?"

"Have I ever let you down, Ned? I even threw in something extra that I think you're going to like." She placed a key on the table between them. "The address to the storage unit is taped underneath my…" Emily jumped in shock as something warm and wet sprayed her face and neck.

With a strangled gurgle, Juan Carlos slumped in his seat, his eyes vacant as a crimson stain spread across the chest of his designer suit.

"Nenad get down!" Scrambling from her chair, Emily tipped the table and quickly ducked behind it as Nenad dove for cover next to her. Around them the sounds of panic filled the outdoor cafe as people hurried to get out of the line of fire, but after the first single shot, no other rounds were fired.

Emily peaked around the table and scanned the buildings surrounding them. A curtain fluttered in a third story window to the north of them, but if the shooter had been there, he was now gone. She grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser that had fallen to the ground and attempted to scrub the blood from her face and neck. Luckily her jacket was dark and it hid any traces of the blood seeping into the fabric.

"We need to split up and get out of here before the authorities show up." Emily ripped the paper attached to her over-turned chair and thrust it at Nenad. "I'm really disappointed in this turn of events, Ned," she spat. "I think it's best if we laid low for a little while."

Nenad looked at her incredulously. "You think I had something to do with this?"

Emily rose to a slight crouch, ready to flee the scene, when a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Lauren, wait! I still need a supplier to arm my men. Kosovo won't stay quiet for long; I can feel it."

She suppressed a shiver at the fever in the Serbian's eyes at the mention of the Kosovo Liberation Army. "I'm still your supplier Ned. But obviously things are a little hot right now. I'll be in touch." She rose from her crouch and walked briskly away.

* * *

The only thing on her mind was the hotel bar. After a near death afternoon and the phone conversation she just had, she didn't feel that a drink or three was too out of line. She cringed as she thought about her argument with Clyde.

"_Sean thinks it's too dangerous there and you need to leave tonight."_

"_That's not happening Clyde!" Emily's voice rose with every word. She had already butted heads several times with Sean since Interpol - London requested the task force's assistance with the Valhalla cell. "I'll leave tomorrow after I know Nenad has picked up the package. You know how important this is." Emily had been working Nenad Bankovic for the past six months with secret meetings and weapon dealings and every time they met, she added a little more to her working profile of him. But the weapons she sold him today were tagged. Now they would be able to provide the Serbian government with not only her intel and profile, but the location of his hidden army. _

"_Darling…"_

"_Besides it's not his call. He's in charge of the Valhalla mission and that's it." Sean had not been happy with Clyde and Emily's plan to use their Boston contacts to try and gain an introduction to Valhalla's lieutenant. And in Emily's opinion, he was going to derail the mission before it even had a chance to start._

"_Darling, he's afraid you'll get yourself killed in Serbia and Valhalla will be a bust before we even get you in." Clyde's soothing voice grated on her nerves._

_Emily took a deep breath and decided to change the subject. "Any Intel on the shooting?"_

_She heard him sigh into the phone. "We don't have anything yet, but I have Jeremy digging further."_

Emily lifted her glass for a sip of Bordeaux, when she suddenly sensed a presence on her other side. With an inward sigh she turned; ready to shoot down the brave soul who thought he could seduce her tonight.

She was not prepared for the wide grin and mischievous gray eyes of her former partner, and she gasped out loud in shock. They had not seen each other since the CIA had assigned her to the JTF-12 team, and the months apart seemed to melt away as she stared into his twinkling eyes. "Nicholas Murphy, what the hell…" Her voice trailed off as Nick pulled her into a crushing embrace.

Nick laughed in delight at her stunned reaction. "My God, Emily. How long has…" He stopped abruptly when he felt her frame stiffen in his arms. She shifted slightly, her head buried in the crook of his neck and he felt her lips move as she murmured against his skin. "I can't hear you, silly."

Clutching his shirt she drew him closer to her, and whispered softly in his ear. "I'm Lauren. My name is Lauren Reynolds." She studied his face as he pulled away from her, noting the comprehension in his eyes, followed by a flicker of sadness.

He recovered quickly as he guided her back to the bar stool. As she sat, he leaned close to her once more. "You don't really look like a Lauren to me. I think I'll just call you by Tom's appointed code name for you." He smirked in amusement at the glare she gave him as he took the stool next to her.

She motioned for the bartender and turned back to Nick, pulling a cigarette from her pack resting on the bar. "What are you doing in Belgrade? How long have you been here? Where are Dean and Tom?"

Nick grinned broadly at the onslaught of questions and turned to the bartender as she approached. "What she's having, please." He turned back to Emily as she lit her cigarette and gazed at her with frank approval. The soft curls that framed her face fell to just below her shoulders and he reached out to lightly brush a strand away from her face. His eyes dropped to the sapphire blue dress that hugged her curves and showed off a healthy expanse of her long slender legs.

"Ah hem." Emily interrupted his inspection and he raised his eyes. As his gaze caught hers, she dipped her head demurely from a shyness she had never before experienced in his presence. Chiding herself for her foolishness, she looked back up at Nick, her eyes flashing with humor. "Are you going to answer my questions or just sit there staring like a horny teenager?"

The humor faded from her eyes and her breath hitched when their gazes locked and she saw the heat behind Nick's stare. Running a nervous tongue over her bottom lip, she tried to pry her eyes from his, but he held her with a burning intensity she had never before seen from him, and suddenly the world around her blurred out of existence for a moment.

They both startled when the bartender arrived with the wine and Nick chuckled as he shook his head. "I've been here a couple of days, but I'm leaving tomorrow. And no, Tom and Dean are not with me. I'm solo on this trip."

"But what are you doing here?" Emily was struggling to find equilibrium. The shock of running into Nick and the affect his presence was having, threatened to overwhelm her. She took a drag from her cigarette in an attempt to calm herself.

"I think we should find us a booth somewhere." Nick rose from his bar stool, took the cigarette from her fingers and crushed it in the ashtray before pulling her from her seat. With his hand under her elbow and the other one gripping his wine glass, he guided her across the room to a secluded booth at the back of the bar.

"You know I could ask you the same question Bambi, but I probably won't get an answer." He smiled when Emily rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Just a freelance job I wrapped up today." Nick raised the wine glass to his lips and took a small sip. "Very nice, you always did have great taste in wine."

Emily leaned towards him and whispered urgently, "Juan Carlos Moreno."

He paused for a moment before resting the glass back on the table. "You want to reminisce about the 'good ole days' in Buenaventura?" His voice was light, but Emily sensed a slight tension in his tone.

"Nick, I got made today. Juan Carlos recognized me as Deanna, but he was shot and killed before he could out me to my target." Emily studied him closely, watching for a reaction. She was rewarded with the nearly imperceptible widening of his eyes.

"What were you doing with Juan Carlos Moreno?" His soft voice held a dangerous edge.

"You know I can't tell you that. It doesn't matter anyway, since he's dead. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" She gave Nick a pointed stare and his eyes hardened momentarily before he dropped his gaze to the drink in front of him.

He had been so focused on finding a clear shot, that the other occupants at that table were just a peripheral. Was he here because of her? His orders had come from his handler, but who was the one pulling the strings in this dangerous puppet show? Shit, he could have killed her.

"Why would I? Bambi…excuse me, _Lauren_. You think too much, you always did. Moreno had a lot of enemies and you caught a lucky break. Those do happen you know." Nick looked up from his drink and reached out to pull Emily closer to him in the booth. His mood was suddenly light again as he kissed the top of her head. "We haven't seen each other in a year and a half. Let's not talk shop right now. I've missed you."

Emily sighed as she leaned against his shoulder. She shouldn't dwell on the topic, but she couldn't help herself. Nick's sudden change in topic wasn't fooling her either. Interpol must have tipped off the CTIC about Nenad's sudden interest in Juan Carlos. Did the CTIC get Nick and the CIA involved? Was he brought here to keep her cover intact? Although he didn't seem to know she was with Juan Carlos Moreno and if the CTIC knew, they hadn't told Clyde. Maybe his assignment had nothing to do with her after all. That coincidence was too big for her to swallow.

She snuggled closer to Nick and his arm around her tightened. His familiar scent was intoxicating and her mind flashed back to their past together: protecting each other in the field and flirting with each other at every opportunity. Nick was incorrigible, naughty, sexy, and sometimes irksome. Her reaction to him, after several months apart, was the same as it had been the first time they met. Back then she was a brash, young, CIA operative who was slightly overwhelmed and enthralled by the tall, golden man assigned to watch her back. Now she was a seasoned, somewhat cynical, CIA operative, who was still slightly enthralled by the tall, golden man pressed against her.

The music in the bar changed from a current pop song to "Vamonos Pal Monte" by Eddie Palmieri, and Emily and Nick both grinned at the couples attempting to dance the salsa.

"Shall we show them how it's done?" Nick tugged at her wrist, pulling her with him as he began to slide out of the booth.

Emily's eyes widened in surprise and she tugged back as she anchored herself in the booth. "Nick, no; I don't want to draw attention to myself."

"Then you shouldn't have worn that dress."

Emily threw her head back and laughed at Nick's corny come-on. It wasn't lost on her that just a few short hours ago she was ducking behind a table hiding. Probably from the very person she was now sharing a drink and a laugh with. But as she looked into the dancing, gray eyes of her former partner, she couldn't bring herself to care. She needed this. For far too long she had been living as someone else and the stress of maneuvering through the crime world, establishing herself as Lauren Reynolds was taking its toll. With her next target identified, it seemed unlikely that she would be leaving this world anytime soon. Lauren was quickly pushed to the back of her mind. Tonight was for Emily.

Nick drew her body back to his and leaned in close. Emily's heart thundered in her chest and she jumped when she felt his hand brush her cheek.

"You know, I've always wanted to kiss you." She shivered as his words caressed her ear.

"We've kissed before, several times." Emily murmured softly. She let her gaze drift back to the dance floor.

He made a noise of frustration. "No. I mean I've always wanted to kiss _you_. Not because it was part of our cover, but because we both know that there's always been something between us. But we were partners, so…"

Emily turned back to him as his voice trailed off. The intensity in his eyes was a sharp contrast to the loving way he suddenly cupped her face. She knew if they turned this corner, there was no going back. But after years of denial, she was more than ready to take that next step. "So what's stopping you now?"

At her question, she saw his pupils dilate slightly and she drew his head close to hers. Softly, she brushed her lips against his as she breathed, "We're not partners anymore."

Her challenge caused the reaction she had been hoping for and his mouth claimed hers with an urgency that surprised her. Their long ago undercover kisses seemed banal in comparison as their pent-up desire fueled the passion between them.

* * *

Emily gasped in shock as her back hit the floor and Nick tumbled to the ground beside her. Somehow they had managed to make it back to her hotel room, their bodies a tangle of limbs as clothes were hastily removed and discarded.

Emily rolled over and pressed herself against him. God, she wanted him. She had always wanted him like this: skin on skin, his mouth and hands on her body, overwhelming her senses. He was everywhere: tasting, touching, stroking. She grabbed his head and pulled him in for a deep kiss, savoring the taste of him.

The want turned to a need that she could no longer ignore as Emily pushed him back and straddled him. With a deliberate slowness that took every ounce of her self-control, she lowered herself onto Nick. Her world narrowed to only this moment. Nothing else mattered except Nick beneath her, around her, inside her.

As she began to move above him, Nick couldn't tear his gaze away from her. The way her eyes would close as she ground against him with each downward motion; the soft smile that would play across her swollen mouth when he cupped her breasts as they bounced above him; her hair as it traced across her shoulders with each movement of her body; the seductive way she would bite her lip and throw her head back when his fingers stroked her core. Every breath, moan and sigh set his blood on fire.

Emily's face tightened and her pace became more demanding as her need for release consumed her. Nick firmly grabbed her hips, keeping her steady as her strokes came faster and harder until finally, she exploded around him, crying his name. He thrust deep inside her with his own release, following her into sweet oblivion.

She collapsed onto his chest, gasping for breath as her walls still shuddered around him. Nick's rapid heartbeat pounded loudly in her ear and she raised her head and kissed him softly on the chin, a small satisfied smile on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had been with a man that she had an actual connection with. Relationships were difficult to maintain in their line of work, and she had long since grown weary of one night stands.

Rolling over, Nick trapped her beneath him and she groaned as he slipped from her body. "Goddamn it woman, you didn't even let me get you into bed." Emily chuckled as she tilted her head back and regarded the large bed behind her from her vantage on the floor.

"You were taking too damn long." She murmured as she pulled him back towards her.

He kissed and nipped along her jaw, tracing a path towards her ear. His tongue softly traced the shell, sending shivers of pleasure through her body. "I knew you were a screamer." He whispered and he smirked at the look of indignation on her lovely face.

"I didn't scream..." She glowered at him and tried not to smile.

"I plan on making you scream at least a couple more times before the night is over. But not here."

The bed was large and inviting and did look much softer than the floor they had just made love on. As she padded over to the bed, Emily felt Nick's eyes on her body; specifically, the small phoenix brand on her hip. Turning to face him, she recognized the troubled look in his eyes as he crawled onto the bed next to her, and she knew that seeing the brand had sparked his long buried guilt for her capture so many years ago.

With a small sigh, she ran her fingers lightly over his chest. "You know, the two of us never really discussed the Alkaev incident."

He squeezed her hand and held it tight against his chest. "I never wanted to pry."

"I'm not talking about me." She wasn't surprised by his stunned expression and pressed on before he tried to shut her down. "I dealt with it; Dean made sure of that. But you… You hovered over me like some sort of macho guardian angel for weeks, so I know it affected you." She snuggled closer and rested her head on his chest. "Talk to me Nick."

"You were my partner, I shouldn't have left you."

"You were following orders. And besides, you would have been captured right along with me."

"Maybe not. And even if I had been, at least you wouldn't have gone through that alone."

"But I wasn't alone." Emily whispered. "I had all three of you right there with me." She lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"Did you have nightmares? Afterwards, I mean." His voice was soft, almost timid, which was very uncharacteristic for him.

"Not that I could remember. I did have flashbacks though." She hesitated for a moment as she repositioned herself around him. "Did you have nightmares?" He turned his gaze to the ceiling, effectively avoided her eyes. "Nick."

"I had the same dream every night for several weeks." His voice was void of any emotion, as if by distancing himself he wouldn't have to remember his pain and guilt.

"What was the dream?"

He pulled away from her and sat up, swinging his legs over the bed, with his back to her. "I was running through a maze of corridors looking for you. I was frantic because I couldn't find you. I could hear them beating you and I knew that if I didn't get to you in time…" He rubbed his eyes and sighed in frustration. "The dream always ended the same: with your scream. The one we heard through the comm after that son of a bitch branded you."

Nick fell silent for a long moment and Emily waited patiently for him to continue. "I shouldn't have left you." His whisper was barely audible and his shoulders sagged at his admittance.

Moving behind him Emily pressed against his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. As she softly kissed the back of his neck, she pondered what she could possibly say to this man who had saved her life on numerous occasions, but was still haunted by this one incident: his perceived failure.

"I wish I knew what to say." She felt him shrug his shoulders slightly. "Nobody but you thinks it was your fault. It's part of the job. Do you know how pissed I would have been if you had come back for me and gotten yourself captured?"

"I would have…"

"Let me put it this way. What if you had been captured instead of me?" Nick turned slightly to face her, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Would you have expected me to come back for you, even after I was ordered to leave?"

"Of course not!"

Emily smirked as she moved away from him and back to her side of the bed. "Okay, you do see the double standard here, right?"

Nick sighed as he turned fully to face her. "I know, but I can't help what I feel."

"Can I just say one more thing and then we can drop the subject?" He eyed her warily, but nodded his head for her to continue. "Get over yourself!" She grabbed his pillow and smacked it against his head as he tried to duck out of the way. "Besides, if you had been caught, I would have had to escape _and_ rescue your sorry ass."

With a soft laugh and a smile that almost reached his eyes he conceded, "That's probably true." He crawled across the bed and pulled her into his arms.

"Now can you begin to move past this?"

"Yes. I promise I will try, if we can please stop talking about it." He drew her closer, buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled. Emily never wore perfume nor used any fragrant soaps or shampoos: an identifying scent could be hazardous in the world of espionage, so the scent he inhaled was naturally her. "Emily."

"Lauren." She corrected him softly.

"There's no one here but us and I'm not calling you by that name while I'm in your bed, _Emily._" He said her name with a growl before he captured her mouth with his.

True to his word, she screamed his name twice more before the night was over. Their second time was long and sensual as they explored and memorized each other's bodies with every tender caress and soft kiss. The third time was raw and primal and afterwards they clung to each other, desperate in the knowledge that their time together would be over with the approaching dawn.

* * *

A loud thud and a grunted curse woke Emily from her sleep. She opened her eyes to a room softly lit by the rising sun and a nearly dressed Nick sitting on the desk chair messaging his left big toe.

"Were you going to wake me before you left?"

Nick paused in the act of slipping on his shoe. "You looked too peaceful to disturb." He finished tying his shoe under Emily's careful scrutiny, refusing to meet her eye. He wasn't sure if he could face what he knew was coming now that she was awake.

"Bullshit." She raised an eyebrow at him when he finally raised his head to meet her gaze.

"When will I see you again?" Nick decided that rather than avoid the subject of whether they could have a future, he would face it straight on. Even though he knew their careers would never afford them the luxury of a normal relationship.

Instead of answering, she pulled back the covers and got out of bed. He watched her in silence as she grabbed an oversized t-shirt from her suitcase to cover her herself.

"Emily."

"I don't know, Nick." She walked to the window and stared out, not really seeing the beautiful sunrise, promising a pleasant, sunny day. "You knew my reassignment wasn't going to be short term. This isn't just about gathering intel and getting out, and my next mission is projected to be a long-term infiltration."

His response was silence. She couldn't turn around. She couldn't face what she might see in his eyes: disappointment, anger, sadness, loss, understanding. She heard his soft movement and then Nick was behind her.

"Even after what we shared last night, you still won't let me past your walls." He didn't touch her except to softly kiss the top of her shoulder. He went into this knowing that this would be the only logical outcome. But that didn't make this morning any less difficult, or painful.

"When I told you last night that I was your partner and it was my job to protect you, that wasn't the only reason why I had trouble dealing with what happened to you." Emily closed her eyes at his words. "Yes, you were my partner, but you were also so much more than that. I loved you Em. I still do."

His warm presence at her back was suddenly gone, and once she heard the door click shut behind her, she finally let the tears fall.

* * *

_Thank you for reading._

_Stay tuned, more to come... including the BAU_

_For reference CTIC stands for the Counterterrorist Intelligence Center which is run jointly by the CIA and other foreign intelligence agencies. _


	2. Chapter 1a

Chapter 1

_A/N – The story picks up six months after the "present" events in Russian Roulette_

* * *

"According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, the three touch-sensitive light-up bars on the Enterprise-D's transporter console were an homage to the three sliders used on the transporter console on the original Enterprise…"

"Come on Reid, cool it with the Star Trek talk." Morgan sighed as he walked down the familiar third floor hallway of an affluent D.C. condominium complex, stopping in front of the door he had come to know so well.

"Prentiss, open up!" He shouted as he banged his fist against the dark wood.

Reid stepped next to him, closing his cell phone. "It's still going straight to voice mail and she's not picking up her land line. Why isn't she answering? She said she would be back from her trip Monday night, so she should at least be answering even if she overslept. Shouldn't she?" Worry laced his tone and the young doctor looked up and down the long hallway, surprised that Morgan's yelling hadn't drawn any curious neighbors.

After one final attempt at banging on the door, Morgan inserted his key to Emily's apartment and opened the door.

As they walked across the threshold, Reid shrugged off the temptation to fidget as the eerie silence of the apartment seemed to close in on him. Something seemed off but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. To his relief, Morgan slid his gun from his holster and Reid quickly drew his own revolver and followed Morgan's lead towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was very modern, which didn't surprise Reid, but what did surprise him were the dishes in the sink: two plates, a pair of wine glasses and a couple of forks. A pair of identical take-out containers peeked out from the top of the garbage container.

"It looks like she had company before she left." Morgan grimaced as Reid pointed out the obvious, and continued into the living room. As he cleared the room, Reid moved down the hall, his gun at the ready.

The living room was lightly lit by a lamp that had been left on and Morgan could find no signs of a struggle and no sign of Emily. An opened DVD case was left on the coffee table and Morgan couldn't help but smile as he glanced down to see "Dial M for Murder." Emily was fond of classics and he had spent many evenings watching Hitchcock movies with her; this one was a particular favorite of hers.

"It's all clear! Morgan, come take a look at this!" At Reid's shout Morgan trotted down the hall to join the other agent, holstering his gun as he went. Reid's tone wasn't panicked so he assumed he hadn't found Emily hurt or worse.

The first thing he noticed was the rumpled bed sheets on both sides of the bed as he entered the room. Morgan assumed she had suffered from nightmares after her ordeal with Tony Michaels. And even though she never made mention of any, that would explain the state of her bed.

"Look at this." Reid stood in the doorframe of the en-suite bathroom, holding a small trash canister. "A used prophylactic." He held out the bin for Morgan's inspection and the dark agent carefully composed his face to an impassive expression. The incriminating evidence seemed to prove that nightmares were certainly not responsible for Emily's disheveled bed.

Reid walked back into the bathroom and replaced the canister. "Did you know she was seeing someone?" He asked as he returned to the bedroom.

Morgan blinked as Reid's voice pulled him from his dark thoughts about the used condom. "No, did you?"

The young doctor shook his head. "Emily's not exactly an open book, even in the best of times."

Morgan's phone sounded loudly in the quiet bedroom and a black form streaked from under the bed and out the bedroom door. Morgan answered his cell as Reid left the room, calling for the cat.

He found Reid on his hands and knees peering under the living room sofa, trying to coax Sergio from out of hiding. A loud hiss caused Reid to back off slightly and he turned as he heard Morgan approach. "Let him be Reid. Hotch wants us back; I guess Strauss is finally out of her meeting and she has some information on Prentiss' whereabouts."

With one last peek under the sofa, Reid rose from his crouch and followed Morgan to the front door.

"Maybe it was a one-night stand." Reid stated as Morgan locked the door behind them.

"What?" Morgan stopped abruptly when he noticed the pretty young woman standing in the doorway directly across from Emily's. He judged her to be in her early thirties with blonde, wavy, shoulder-length hair and light brown eyes. Her eyebrows were drawn and a little worry line creased the skin between them.

"Do you guys work with Emily?" Her voice was soft as she stepped out of her apartment.

"We do. I'm Derek Morgan and this is Doctor Spencer Reid. Have you seen Emily lately?"

"I'm Breanna. And no, I haven't seen her since she left for East Hampton on Saturday. I check up on Sergio when she's out of town, and she told me she would be back last night. But she still hasn't come home.

Morgan frowned as he looked at Reid, who returned his gaze wide-eyed, his mouth slightly agape. "East Hampton?"

* * *

"Strauss is on her way, what did you two find out?" Morgan and Reid took seats at the round table with the rest of the team as Hotch strode into the room behind them.

"Her neighbor across the hall said she was going to East Hampton with a couple of college girlfriends." Morgan sat quietly as he let Reid take the lead. His head was still swimming with everything he had learned about Prentiss today. They all knew she was intensely private, but Morgan had thought the two of them were making strides in their friendship and trust. Now he didn't know what to believe.

"East Hampton with a couple of girlfriends? But I thought she was going to visit her mom?" Garcia looked to Morgan, who shrugged his shoulders as he gave her a sideways glance.

Reid fidgeted a little in his seat before he continued. "It also seems she had an overnight guest before she left."

"What makes you say that?" Rossi asked, clearly surprised by Reid's statement.

"The used condom in the trash can was a pretty good indication." Morgan replied flatly.

All heads swiveled to the door as Erin Strauss briskly stepped into the room. "Good morning. I see that everyone is here, so let's get started. Saturday Agent Prentiss was asked to consult on a case. She agreed to the consultation and her days off were postponed. We've have had no contact with her since she left, and when she didn't make it into work this morning, I reached out to the agency she was working with. I've had to jump through several hoops, but I finally got some answers. The first one being: they don't know where Agent Prentiss is."

Strauss' statement stunned the team into silence except for two: Morgan and Hotch interjected at the same time.

"What do you mean they don't know?"

"Why wasn't I notified of Prentiss' assignment?"

Strauss ignored Morgan's question and turned to Hotch with a closed expression. "At the time it was strictly need-to-know."

"And you didn't think I needed to know?" Hotch tilted his head and frowned at his superior.

"Who is she working with, Erin?" Rossi sat back in his chair and watched with amusement as she turned and fixed him with a cold stare.

After a long pause, in which she continued to stare down Rossi, she finally answered. "The Central Intelligence Agency."

"What?" Morgan rubbed his temple as if the motion could ward off the headache that was beginning to form. "Why would the FBI assign Prentiss to help the CIA?"

"It was the Agency that requested Agent Prentiss' assistance." Strauss replied.

JJ finally spoke up, her expression confused. "But why?"

"She's ex-CIA, isn't she?" Her silence seemed to confirm Rossi's statement and he nodded his head. He had long suspected there was more to Emily than the less than stellar FBI career that was currently in her file.

Garcia looked from Strauss to Rossi, then back to Strauss, uncertain to whom she wanted to address. "But why didn't she tell us? Why did she keep it a secret?"

"Operatives rarely tell anyone they are CIA. They usually say they work for the State Department." As Hotch turned to Strauss, he struggled to control the anger bubbling under the surface. He had been suspicious of Prentiss' mysterious assignment to the BAU and it had made trusting her difficult in the beginning, but he had never considered that she might have been an ex-intelligence officer. "But you didn't think I needed to know the real background of one of my agents?"

Morgan growled with frustration. "Look, right now we need to focus on finding Prentiss."

"Agreed." Rossi nodded his head. "We can work out who should have been told what later. What can you tell us about her assignment? Because obviously it was more than a mere consult."

Strauss motioned to Garcia. "I sent you a file; can you please bring that up for us?"

As the tech started pounding on her keyboard, Strauss continued to fill them in. "Several weeks ago Andres Rojas, a former South American drug lord surfaced in Los Angles. What makes this unusual is that eleven years ago, he committed suicide. Though some thought it was just made to look like a suicide and he was actually killed by his rival, a drug lord named Juan Carlos Moreno. Federal agents have had Rojas under surveillance since his emergence in LA."

On the screen, Garcia brought up a picture of a dark-skinned man in his early sixties, getting into a blue luxury sedan.

"What is the connection between Prentiss and Andres Rojas?" Hotch turned from the image on the screen.

"Prentiss and her former partner Nicholas Murphy were gathering intel on Andres Rojas as undercover weapons traffickers until his death unceremoniously shut down their assignment. Murphy attempted to make contact with Rojas a couple of weeks ago but without Prentiss, Rojas didn't trust Murphy."

Morgan's eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of Nicholas Murphy, and an image of shaking hands with a snarky, blonde man in Emily's entry hall flashed in his mind. So did the image of that same man kissing Emily on the mouth. "So they needed Prentiss to get them in to see Rojas."

"Yes, but…"

"What went wrong?" Hotch demanded.

"Murphy and Prentiss got in to see Rojas, but they never checked back in with their team."

"So they both just disappeared?" Garcia suddenly covered her mouth as she looked at Strauss in shock. "You don't suppose that Emily is…"

A sudden ringing interrupted the conversation. Strauss checked the number on her phone and answered it quickly, moving to the corner of the conference room. Her hushed tone made it difficult to understand the conversation, no matter how much the team strained to hear. She ended the call and punched a few buttons on her phone before returning to the round table.

"That was my contact at the CIA. We now have every reason to believe that Prentiss and Murphy were still alive as of last night. Please bring up the photo I just sent you, Garcia."

The image onscreen was slightly out of focus, but it appeared to be of Emily and a tall, blonde man talking to a small dark man in a grey suit.

Strauss turned her back on the image to address the team. "This photo was received this morning from Colombian Intelligence. The CIA believes this is Prentiss and Murphy, and the man they are talking to is Javier Moreno, the son of Juan Carlos Moreno."

Morgan clenched his fist in frustration and drew in a deep breath, his headache growing as the briefing continued. "So, he is the son of the man who may have killed Andres Rojas - who isn't actually dead?"

"Why would Emily go to Colombia and not tell the team she was working with?" JJ shook her head. This was not the Emily Prentiss she knew. Emily Prentiss did not break protocol, put her life at risk, and keep her team and her friends in the dark.

"The picture was taken by a Colombian operative who had infiltrated the Mendes compound. According to Colombian Intelligence, their asset reported that Murphy and Prentiss were there to buy women for a Middle Eastern client. The operative's handler has not heard from his asset since he sent the intel last night."

Rossi's voice pierced the sudden silence that had blanketed room. "Buying women for a client? What the hell has Emily gotten herself into?"

* * *

_Thank you for reading and thank you to everyone who read and followed the story after the first posting. And to those who left a review... THANK YOU! I've been away for awhile and you made my day, each of you. _

_No Emily in this chapter, but we'll see what she's up to in the next update._

_Because I threw a lot of names at you in this chapter, below is a reference_

_Andres Rojas – Former Columbian drug lord believed to be dead. Emily and Nick had at one time infiltrated his operation._

_Juan Carlos Moreno – Former Columbian drug lord and rival to Andres Rojas. Was assassinated at a sidewalk café in Serbia in 2003. _

_Javier Moreno – Only son of Juan Carlos Moreno. He inherited the family business_


	3. Chapter 2

A/N – Work has been insane, so I haven't been able to respond to the lovely reviews for the last chapter. Please know that I appreciate each of you taking the time to let me know that you are enjoying the story. It makes my day and encourages me to continue.

* * *

Chapter 2

_Saturday morning; three days earlier_

Emily was pissed. It was Saturday, the first day of her much over-due extended weekend. She should have been home, finishing her packing. But instead, she was at the BAU sitting outside of Strauss' office waiting for a summons.

She chewed her thumb nail as she considered why Strauss would call her at seven AM with an order to report to her office as soon as possible. Summons to the Section Chief's office had never gone particularly well for her. She just hoped that today would be the exception; she had a plane ticket to New York and a couple of old friends who would strangle her if she wasn't on it.

The door suddenly opened and an aide stepped out, motioning Emily to enter. Seated behind the desk was the wicked witch herself. Without looking up from her paperwork, Strauss waved to a chair and Emily took a seat.

"There's another agency requesting your assistance." Strauss stated without any preamble as she finally looked up from the stack of files to the brunette sitting across from her.

"What?" Not the most eloquent response she could have come up with, but Strauss' statement had taken her by surprise.

"It's temporary of course and you don't have to accept the assignment."

"I'm leaving town." Emily didn't even attempt to keep the irritation from her voice. "Can't you send someone else?"

Strauss pulled open a desk drawer and retrieved a card. "They specifically requested you. I don't have the clearance to know the specifics, only that it has something to do with an old assignment of yours and they don't expect it to take more than a day or two." She slid the card across her desk. "If you decide to accept the assignment, you are to go to this location."

Emily glanced at the card and her eyes narrowed at the familiar address. "I'm out. You know that," she replied angrily.

"You don't have to go. But from the little I've been told, they seem to need you."

* * *

Emily stepped lightly as she took the stairs that lead to the basement of an old Greek restaurant in the heart of Southeast DC. She hadn't been here in years, and she angrily wondered what the hell she was doing here now. When she approached the familiar door at the bottom landing, she reached out to run her hand down the rough wood. She closed her eyes as the feel of the wood and the smells from the restaurant brought back memories of her time in this basement; their safe house. Most of it had been mission planning, but one particular memory stood out: a night when an operation at the Baltimore harbor had gone horribly wrong. Separated from her team, Emily had been the first to arrive at the safe house not knowing whether the rest of her team was alive or dead.

She opened her eyes and shook her head as she remembered the panic and dread she had felt that night as she waited. And there it was; the reason she was here. Because no matter how much time had passed since she last called herself a member of this team, these people would always be important to her. Even when their timing was as lousy as it was today.

Emily took a deep breath then curled her hand into a fist and knocked twice, waited three seconds, then knocked four more times in rapid succession.

The door opened to reveal Dean Hawke, and she couldn't contain a grin as her former team leader greeted her. "Come on in, Kid. We were hoping you'd stop by."

"Since when are you back in the field?" She patted Dean's arm affectionately as she crossed the threshold and he chuckled as he closed the door behind her.

The other three members of the team surrounded a large table at the back of the room, which held an assortment of weapons. Samantha Kim, who had joined the team a few years prior, looked up from the gun she was cleaning and flashed Emily a quick smile. Nick shrugged his shoulders sheepishly at her before he turned back to inventory the weapons, never really meeting her eyes. Tom Kohler joined her from across the room and gave her shoulder a friendly punch. She leveled her best glare at him.

"So, what is this about?" She asked. "Did you know I was leaving for East Hampton today? What could you possibly need me for?"

Samantha raised an eyebrow at Nick, which Emily pretended not to notice.

Dean pulled her further into the room as he explained. "Andres Rojas has resurfaced. He showed up in Los Angles a few weeks ago."

"Wha - What?" Emily sputtered in shock. "But he's dead!"

"Apparently not." Tom replied. "The DEA has had him under surveillance for the last four weeks, trying to figure out what he's up to."

"The DEA is convinced he's connected to a Mexican drug cartel that controls the majority of the heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines distributed in southern California." Samantha set the gun on the table and picked up another as she continued. "They've never been able to determine the leader of the cartel. They now believe it is Andres. Unfortunately, they've been unable to gather any evidence to support their claim."

Nick chuckled at her statement. "Yeah, he has the DEA running in circles scratching their heads."

"What do you mean?" Emily addressed her question to Dean, ignoring Nick.

"He volunteers at a homeless shelter; eats dinner at the same restaurant every night, and then goes home to a house that is rented under his driver's name. That's it." Dean shrugged his shoulders.

Emily frowned and scratched her head. "A homeless shelter? That doesn't sound anything like Andres."

"For teenagers." Tom said. "It's mostly runaways and drug addicts. The DEA is convinced Andres is using the shelter as recruitment for the gangs responsible for distribution and prostitution." He made an irritated noise. "If Andres was the head of the cartel, he would not be doing the recruiting himself and the DEA knows that. They're grasping at straws."

Samantha turned from the table to face Emily. "Since the DEA kept hitting dead ends, the DOJ finally decided to ask for help."

"Well it's our problem now." Nick finally turned to meet her stare. "We're taking point since we have a history with Andres. Or I should say you and I have a history with him."

Emily held up her hand, halting the flow of information. "Wait. The CIA has actually been sanctioned for a mission on U.S. soil?"

"Let's just say that our assistance is off the record." Tom explained. "And if we are successful the DEA will take all the credit."

"Nick made contact with Andres last week." Samantha tipped her head towards the blonde as she spoke. "He seemed interested, but wouldn't talk to Nick without you."

Nick smiled slightly. "He wants Deanna and Ryan. Apparently you were his favorite, so we need Deanna. Sam's good, but she can't take over one of your aliases. I think Andres would notice the switch." Nick glanced at the slight Asian woman next to him as she laughed lightly. Emily rolled her eyes at him.

"We need you, Kid. You and Nick had a relationship with him. The two of you together are our ticket to finding out what he's up to." Dean said.

"So, are you in Bambi?" Tom smirked as Emily turned to face him. "Come on, you know you miss this."

Emily sighed and ran her tongue over her lip as she made her decision. "I need to call Lana and Robyn. They're going to kill me for cancelling on the day we're supposed to leave."

"Surely they're used to that by now." Nick piped in behind her. Emily gritted her teeth and pretended he wasn't there.

"You need to leave your badge and Bureau gun behind. Wrap up any business you need to. We leave in three hours." Tom hesitated before he turned to leave. "I assume I don't need to remind you that you are not to speak of this to anyone."

Emily gave him a flat stare. "I haven't been out that long, Tom. I do remember protocol."

* * *

She set her go-bag on her bed and pursed her lips together as she crouched next to her window seat. In one swift motion she opened the secret panel under the seat, which held the smallest of her caches: a few guns; a handful of passports for various aliases; cash, both American and Euro, and a small assortment of knives. She assumed the team had contracted a cobbler to fabricate an ID for Deanna Paige, so all she needed were guns and cash, and maybe a knife or two.

She chose a Sig Sauer SP2022 9MM and a couple of extra magazines and placed them next to her go-bag. After a moment's thought, she also grabbed a Beretta Px4 Storm 9MM sub-compact and an ankle holster. It never hurt to have back up.

Behind her a floorboard creaked in the hallway and Emily froze for a moment, the gun still in her hand. She spun suddenly and leveled the Beretta at the doorway as Nick walked into her bedroom.

"Whoa!" Nick held up his hands and raised his eyebrows at the gun Emily still had trained on him. "You sure didn't give me this welcome last night."

"Maybe I should have." Emily finally lowered the gun and dropped it next to the Sig. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

"I couldn't Em. Our case officer made it clear that we were to brief you at the safe house, that is, if you agreed to help us. And honestly, I shouldn't have even been here last night, but you know I have a hard time staying away." At the irritated look that flittered across her face Nick quickly switched back to professional mode. "Now that you've accepted we will go over everything in more detail on the flight to LA."

Emily turned her back to him and loaded the equipment into her bag.

"You know we have weapons you can use. And cash."

She continued to ignore him as she pulled her favorite knife from the cache. She left the money; she was more than willing to let the CIA provide that for her.

"Come on, Emily. I really didn't come here last night to seduce you. Or should I say, be seduced by you."

Emily spun around and pinned him with a glare. "Yeah. 'Cause that's how it happened."

"Can we please call a temporary truce for now? We need to be a team on this and you've been out of the game for a while. Are you sure you're ready to become Deanna Paige again?"

She sighed and her shoulders sagged slightly. "Of course I'm not sure. But when this is over, you owe me a trip to a beach, preferably somewhere tropical."

Nick grinned as he picked up her bag. "Deal."

* * *

Sunday morning was warm and sunny in Los Angles, but even the pleasant weather and quaint Echo Park neighborhood couldn't quell the anxiety Emily was currently stamping down as Nick pulled their car into the drive of Andres' rented house. After much discussion during their flight to Los Angles, it was decided that Nick and Emily would be armed – that would be expected of them since Andres believed them to be weapon dealers – but not be wired. Andres had always respected Ryan and Deanna Paige, so this first meeting should just be a simple re-acquaintance between former associates. And they didn't want to risk raising any suspicion during their initial meeting.

As they walked up the path towards the house, Nick reached over and squeezed Emily's hand. "How are you holding up?"

Despite the anger she initially felt at Nick for keeping her in the dark, Emily was relieved to have him by her side. She squeezed his hand back before letting go. "Oh, I'm just peachy." He didn't need to know that he was off-the-hook yet.

The front door opened to reveal Enzo, Andres' longtime driver and bodyguard. Emily knew from the briefing that Enzo was with Andres, but it was still a shock to see him after so many years. She stepped into the foyer with Nick close behind.

"El Sr. y la Sra. Paige, por favor." He gestured with his hand, his voice soft and polite, but Emily knew that this man could turn deadly in an instant if he felt his boss was in danger. They both knew the drill and held their arms out so Enzo could pat them down. He confiscated a .45 caliber Glock from Nick and Emily's Sig Sauer and Beretta. He even found her hidden knife, which made Nick smirk.

"Estos serán devueltos después de la reunión." Enzo nodded to them before he took his leave.

"Deanna!" She spun as the name of her alias was bellowed from across the room. If Emily thought she was shocked before, that was nothing compared to seeing the ghost that approached her, his arms opened for a hug.

As she was crushed in his embrace, Emily managed to sputter, "You don't feel like a ghost. I guess Ryan wasn't lying to me after all."

Chuckling, Andres stepped back and held her at arm's length as he studied her. "You're even lovelier than I remember. Come, both of you." He turned and guided them to a study just off the foyer. "Let's have a drink and catch up."

The study was large and surprisingly bright, even with the blinds closed. Nick and Emily both took a seat on the plush couch as Andres arranged himself in the chair across from them. Enzo quietly entered the room with a tray of mimosas.

"Pefect tiempo Enzo." His employee's only reply was a tight smile as he handed a glass to Emily, then to Nick before finally serving his employer and making a discreet exit. Nick and Emily both knew he would not be too far away.

"¡Por favor!" Andres raised his glass and motioned for the two of them to do the same. "To new beginnings."

"To new beginnings." Nick and Emily repeated. They both raised their glasses for a drink.

"So, where has this bastard been hiding you?" Andres asked.

They both chuckled at his comment. "Actually, I was at a meeting in Miami. A potential new client who Ryan managed to annoy at our first meet. I thought things would go smoother without him." She smiled at Nick and took another sip.

"Well, she is the brains of our little business, I'm the beauty."

Andres snorted at Nick's comment. "I'm going to have to respectfully disagree." He winked at Emily. "And it's not that I don't think you have the brains."

"Of course not." She murmured as she took another drink, wondering if they were going to discuss business at this first meeting. She and Nick had agreed that they would let Andres control the direction of their first conversation. They didn't want to push him and inadvertently scare him off.

"How did you find me, my friend?"

Nick cleared his throat and took another sip before he answered. "We have a 'friend' in the DEA that we keep on the payroll. He provides us information and keeps us under the radar. It was from him that I learned you were alive and in the States. Which means you are being watched by the DEA and this meeting could be potentially dangerous for us."

Andres waved his hand dismissively. "They can watch, I'm not doing anything illegal. Let me ask you both a question." The lighthearted tone was gone and Andres frowned as he tapped his glass absentmindedly. "I know you primarily deal in weapons, but do you ever provide your clients with anything else?"

Nick and Emily stole a quick glance at one another, uncertain with Andres unusual question. Emily gave Nick a slight nod, encouraging him to answer Andres' question.

"We've only dealt in weapons and the accessories that go with them. I don't believe a client has ever asked for anything else. Deanna?"

Emily tilted her head. "Why do you ask?"

Andres looked intently at Emily before moving his focus to Nick. After a moment he sat back, took a deep breath and continued. "If I were to ask if you could get me young girls to buy, would you?"

Emily rubbed her temple as she felt suddenly lightheaded and she wondered if she had heard him correctly. "You want us to buy girls for you?"

"Abss'lutly not!"

Turning to frown at Nick, Emily was suddenly struck by another wave of dizziness. How much champagne had Enzo put in these drinks? She grabbed the coffee table in front of her as she turned back to address Andres. "What my inebriated husband is trying to say to you is that if it's girls you want, you're going to have to find someone else."

With a pleased smile Andres replied, "Good."

Emily, confused by his answer, wasn't sure how she should respond. Nick was of no assistance since he no longer seemed to be following the conversation. She placed her glass on the coffee table in front of her. Or, she tried to. She nearly dropped the flute before she could safely place it on the table. Her head became fuzzy and she sat back against the sofa and looked over at Nick. He too was struggling and his empty glass fell from his hand and bounced on the plush white carpet.

"I don't feel s' good." Nick slurred as he tried to glare at Andres, even as his head started to droop. "Wha' did ja put in…?" His voice trailed off as he slumped over.

Emily fought against the darkness that was closing in around her, her muddled brain still not fully comprehending what was happening. Her eyes left Nick's still form and found Andres calmly studying her. She looked down at her nearly empty glass, then back up at Andres.

"Yousonofa…" She fell against Nick as she finally lost her battle with consciousness.

* * *

_Thank you for reading. _


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_Tuesday morning_

"I've met that Murphy guy."

Hotch glanced up briefly at the agent who had joined him in the jet's kitchenette. Morgan's statement and troubled face was enough for Hotch to turn to him in concern. A quick glance over Morgan's shoulder showed the rest of the team engaged in conversation at the center table and he nodded to his agent to continue.

Morgan sighed heavily. "It was when she was on leave, after…" He left the sentence hanging, pushing the memory of her kidnapping to the back of his mind. "On one of the nights I brought her dinner, she already had company: three men. She introduced me to them and they quickly left, but Murphy was one of them. She was vague when I asked her how she knew them, so I let it drop. But now, I wonder if she worked with all of them. I can't believe she never told me about any of this."

"Well, we'll soon find out." Hotch replied. "Strauss was trying to get a little information on the team we will be meeting in LA. Garcia should be sending it to us anytime."

The unit chief paused for a moment before clearing his throat. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you and Prentiss have been spending a lot of time together since the Michaels' case."

Morgan tilted his head, his expression confused. "Yeah?"

Hotch continued to stare at the younger agent and Morgan's confusion turned to surprise.

"Hotch, I wasn't the one who spent the night with her."

Hotch nodded his head; he had already known. "I understand that, but will this be a problem for you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Hotch raised an eyebrow at Morgan's noncommittal tone. With a sigh, the dark agent added, "right now, all I care about is bringing her home safe."

"Hotch!" JJ's voice halted their conversation.

"What do you have for us Garcia?" Hotch asked the technical analyst as he and Morgan joined the rest of the team around the laptop.

Her face scrunched momentarily on the screen. "Not much, mes amis. We got some basic info on Emily's old team. Oh, and that address Strauss gave you Hotch, is the safe house they've been working from. Also, they don't want us showing up at their safe house in Government- issue vehicles; I guess they're afraid that will blow their cover, so I've reserved a couple of rental cars for you."

A photo of a middle-aged African American man appeared on-screen. "This is former team leader, Dean Hawke. He led the team from 1995 and left about a year ago."

"If he's no longer part of the team, then why is he involved? What does he do now?"

The picture disappeared and Gracia shrugged at JJ's question. "Your guess is as good as mine, Buttercup. I was not made privy to that piece of information. What I can tell you is…" She disappeared and another photograph of a man took her place on-screen. This man appeared to be in his early forties with brown hair and hazel eyes. "This is Tom Kohler. Hawke brought both Kohler and Murphy to the team in '95. Kohler was promoted to team leader when Hawke left."

Two more photographs shared the screen. The first of a blonde-haired man with gray eyes and the second photo showed a slim Asian woman with cropped black hair. "This is Nicholas Murphy, of course. And Samantha Kim joined the team in 2006."

"Does it say when Prentiss was part of the team?" Morgan asked from his perch behind Rossi's seat.

"Yeah." Garcia replied softly, still not fully able to accept that her friend had been keeping this secret life from her. "She was with them from '96 to 2001."

"Where was she after 2001?"

"I wish I knew, Reid. But, that wasn't included in the information they gave us."

Rossi had been quietly sipping his coffee as he took in the minimal information that had been given to them. "Garcia, did they give you anything more on the current assignment?"

"Not any more than we already know."

* * *

_Monday morning, one day earlier_

Emily woke to a gentle shaking that she brushed off with a groan. "Get down, Sergio."

At a very not-so-catlike snort, her eyes shot open and immediately closed as the piercing light exacerbated the pounding behind her eyes.

"Hey."

Emily turned her head towards the sound of the whispered word and carefully pried her eyes open. Nick was seated next to her, looking as bad as she felt, but he reached out and helped her into a seated position.

With a pained moan Emily studied the room around them. The drapes of the only window were opened and illuminated the small room. The double-bed that she and Nick were sprawled upon took up much of the space with the only other furniture being a nightstand with one small lamp. "Where the hell are we?"

Nick carefully stood and moved towards the small window and grimaced. All he could see were coffee bean fields surrounded by fruit trees. "I'm pretty sure we're in Colombia." He opened the small window; the air was warm and moist. "Do you think you could fit…"

He jumped at the sudden loud banging behind him and turned to see Emily at the door, her right hand balled into a fist as she confronted the closed door in front of her: _Bang-bang-bang. _

"Andres!" Emily's voice was strained as she tried to shout through the door and grimaced at the pain it caused her head. She turned back to Nick, "What the hell does he think he's doing, knocking us out and…" She stepped back, startled as the door suddenly opened and a dark, muscular man with a very large gun stood on the other side.

"Ven conmigo, por favor." He gestured with his gun, and they slowly crossed the threshold and walked down the hallway into a comfortable living area. Seated at a table across the room was Andres Rojas, smiling at them as if he hadn't just drugged and kidnapped them.

A small woman emerged from an adjoining room carrying a tray laden with food: fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, sliced ham and toast. Emily watched silently as she laid the tray on the table and made two more trips, filling the table with plates, silverware, glasses and a pitcher of water and a pot of coffee before quietly disappearing into the adjoining room. Nick's cool gaze never left Andres'.

"Please have a seat. You both must be hungry and thirsty."

Nick tensed at Andres' words. "You think we'd trust anything you'd offer us now?"

"What do you want with us and how long have we been here?" Emily demanded.

Andres sighed softly and gestured to the seats at the table. "Sit down and I will explain everything."

Nick gave Emily a long look, and in their silent conversation they agreed to play along with Andres; especially since they didn't seem to have a better option at the moment. They both took a seat at the table, but made no move to eat or drink. Emily frowned as her traitorous stomach growled loudly.

Andres cut a chunk of ham and placed it on the plate in front of him. "It's all safe. I already have you here; I have no need to drug you now."

Deciding a banana would be difficult to tamper with; Emily snatched one from the table and peeled it, her eyes never leaving Andres. The banana disappeared in three bites, and then she grabbed another.

Nick, satisfied with Andres' reasoning, picked up the pitcher of water and filled a glass for each of them. He drained his glass and immediately refilled it. Emily watched Nick drink as she ate her second banana. With narrowed eyes, she lifted her glass and sniffed.

"I promise you, it's fine." Andres chuckled before taking a sip of coffee.

Muttering under her breath, she fixed him with the fiercest glare she could muster before cautiously sipping the water. The sips turned to gulps as soon as the cool liquid hit her throat. A moan from Nick drew her attention, and she found him attacking a plate of eggs with gusto. With a shake of her head, Emily finally spooned a small portion of eggs onto her plate and added a piece of toast for good measure. Nick was now ripping a piece of ham with his teeth.

"If you haven't already guessed, you are in Colombia. Specifically, you're in a cabin on the edge of my compound outside Buenaventura. And today is Monday."

"Your compound?" Nick spoke around a mouthful of food. "Didn't it go to your niece after your death? And why did you fake your death, by the way? And how the hell did you get us here?"

Andres smiled slightly at Nick's onslaught of questions. "You were brought here by private jet. After my wife and daughter were murdered by Juan Carlos Moreno…"

"You have proof of that?" Emily interrupted.

"Of course it was Juan Carlos. We were in the middle of a turf war, you know that. By murdering my family he effectively pushed me out of the game." He paused to take a sip of coffee. "You might not believe this, but I always considered myself a businessman first, not a drug lord, although that was what I was called. My wife and daughter were everything to me. Everything I did was so I could provide a good life for my Mariana and Tia. Tia was only six years old when that coño murdered them. I just didn't see the point in continuing on without them."

Andres paused and blankly looked at the food in front of him. "So you faked your death?" Emily prodded him to continue.

"My men had captured and killed an employee of Juan Carlos' on my compound. At that point, I was already looking for a way out; his death provided an excellent opportunity."

"So it was that man's burnt body they found in the wreckage." Andres nodded at Nick's statement.

"It was just a matter of sending my car over the cliff with his body in it. Enzo had a contact that switched our dental records. And that was that."

"The suicide note you left your niece was a nice touch – though it didn't stop people from speculating that Juan Carlos killed you." Nick paused to pour himself a cup of coffee. "So you left everything to your niece and just disappeared?"

"Yes, I'm so proud of her. She's turned this place into a legitimate thriving plantation. She didn't want me to go, but was relieved that I was getting out of the drug business."

Emily looked at Nick and raised an eyebrow before turning back to Andres. "So she knows you're alive and your men know you are alive, anyone else? And where have you been this entire time?"

Nick added, "And, why are you back? Decided to have a go at kidnapping for a living?"

"I've been in Mexico, enjoying a quiet retirement. But rumors started trickling in. Disturbing rumors that my old rival's son was expanding the family business, so I decided to investigate. You'd heard that Juan-Carlos was assassinated a few years back?"

"We're both aware of his death." Nick answered dryly.

"You're talking about his son, Javier Moreno?" Emily asked Andres, ignoring Nick's comment. "How is he expanding the business?"

"He's selling girls."

Nick looked at Andres sharply. "You're sure of that?"

Andres shrugged and gestured slightly with his hand. "Yes, but I have no proof. He owns a small shipping company that carries exported coffee to the Port of Los Angeles. I know that's how he smuggles his drugs into the U.S. I figured smuggling girls out in the same ships would be a reasonable assumption, so I went to LA to do some more digging."

"What did you find?" Emily found herself interested despite the situation.

"I found a shelter for teenage run-aways where several girls have gone missing. According to the woman who runs the shelter, it happens all the time. But the kids in that shelter are scared. That's all I have to go on."

Nick pushed away from the table and began pacing the small area. The man who had brought them to this room stepped forward, his hand on the grip of his gun, but Andres waved him back.

He stopped his pacing abruptly and turned to face Andres. "Why are you doing this? You're not a cop, you're a dead criminal. What are these girls to you?"

"I may have been many things in my life, but selling young girls as sex slaves? That I could never do. And I cannot stand by and let that bastard get away with it." His eyes glazed over momentarily. "Tia, my little angel, would have been a teenager now had that bastard not killed her. I can't even begin to imagine…"

As Andres trailed off, Emily and Nick looked at each other. Emily finally shrugged as if answering a silent question from him and turned back to Andres. "And I'm sure revenge has nothing to do with it?" She quickly moved on as Andres bristled at her question. "Obviously you can't notify the authorities of your suspensions, but why not have your niece do it?"

"No! I don't want to risk Isabella. I would be putting her life in jeopardy if Javier found out. She doesn't even know I'm here, nor of my suspicions about Javier."

Nick walked over to Emily and placed his hand on her shoulder. "So what do you want from us?"

"I got the idea when you first approached me last week. Javier wouldn't think twice about meeting with weapon suppliers, so it's been arranged to appear that you are flying into Buenaventura later this afternoon. There is a hotel booked for Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Paige. Enzo will drop you off at the airport, where there will be a car waiting to take you to the hotel. By now, Javier must know of your impending arrival. You are to make contact him, tell him that you are here looking for women for your client."

"What makes you think Deanna and I will agree to help you?" Nick slightly tightened his grip on Emily.

"Because you want to leave Colombia alive." Andres turned his focus to Emily. "And you must also be sickened at what this man is doing."

"So if we are able to get proof that Javier is trafficking girls – what then? What's your end game, Andres? Because in case you've forgotten, Ryan and I aren't exactly upstanding citizens ourselves."

Andres sighed heavily. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Well, shit." Nick shook his head. "I guess if we're going to do this, I would like to get a look at the compound first. Do you have a vehicle or anything we can take?"

"I have rough schematics of the Moreno compound. They are yours to use."

Nick nodded his head. "We will need them, but I need to take a look for myself."

"I had a feeling you would say that. Come with me."

The pair followed as Andres led them to a storage shed tucked behind the cottage, their armed guard a silent companion.

"You'll want to stay off the main roads; going cross-country will be your safest bet."

"You're kidding, right?" Emily grumbled as Andres stopped in front of a blue Yamaha dirt bike, propped against the shed. She turned to Nick, who had a broad grin on his face, and rolled her eyes.

Andres grinned back at Nick. "I have more suitable clothes for you to change into and I assume you will want your guns back. And your knife." He winked at Emily.

* * *

Nick brought the dirt bike to a stop, several hundred yards from the hill that bordered the Moreno compound, and killed the engine. Only then did Emily release her death grip from his waist. A cross-country ride on the back of a dirt bike was not the smoothest ride one could take and Emily had been sure Nick was going to dump her off the back on more than one occasion.

Placing his helmet on the grip of one of the handle bars, Nick surveyed their surroundings, his hands clutching the borrowed binoculars hanging from his neck. "I'm assuming that the security fence is behind those trees, but I can't see through them." Emily scanned the hedgerow of trees at the top of the hill and wondered what Nick hoped to accomplish with this little excursion.

"Stay here, Em. I'm going to get a closer look."

"What are you doing?"

He halted his trot up the hill and turned back to her. "If we end up in that compound, I want to have an exit strategy and schematics don't show us where guards are stationed." He flashed a quick smile in her direction then continued his jog up the hill and disappeared into the tree line.

"Goddamn it Nick." Emily whispered to herself. She knew he was right, but she had been out of this business for a while. She had thought aliases and exit strategies would remain a thing from her past. As she waited, she examined the area surrounding her and fidgeted; sweat plastered her shirt to her back and dripped down her temples and between her cleavage. She yanked off her helmet and squinted as the hot sun hit her head.

The minutes ticked by without any sign from Nick, and Emily was ready to scream with frustration, anxiety, and just pure annoyance with her partner for leaving her behind. Her irritation spiked as she swatted a mosquito on her neck. "Oh good, Malaria was the one thing missing from this kidnapping."

Suddenly Nick crashed through the foliage of the dense tree line and raced down the hill. "Go!"

Startled into action, Emily shoved the helmet onto her head and jumped on the bike. The engine roared to life with one kick-start and she put the bike in gear with a glance over her shoulder. Nick was almost to the bottom of the hill but there was still no sign of what he was running from.

Nick skidded to a stop next to Emily and the bike. Cramming his head into his helmet, he hopped on the back and wrapped his arms around Emily. She wasted no time as she took off as fast as she dared. "Go, go, GO!" She heard him yell above the sound of the engine and she twisted the grip to accelerate.

Rather than ride south and follow the same path back to Andre Rojas' compound, Emily headed west. Her heart pounded in her chest as she concentrated on the keeping them both on the bike and hopefully out of the clutches of whatever was chasing them. Behind her, Nick gave her a tap on the shoulder and pointed to the right. A small one-lane dirt road cut through the country side and Emily adjusted her course to intercept.

Gunfire rang out just as she launched them onto the road and she bit back a curse as the bike briefly went air-born, before landing with a jarring thud on the dirt-packed road. With the smoother surface of the road, Emily increased her speed, trying to put as much distance between them and their pursuer. Behind her Nick twisted around in his seat trying to keep watch behind them. Every movement he made caused Emily's heart to jump into her throat until she finally screamed at him.

"Nick stop moving, you're going to make us crash!"

Ahead of them the road forked. They could continue on this road, or follow the one that curved around a blind bend to the right. Emily followed the road on the right. The curve was sharper than she expected and soon the road behind them was lost behind a forest of trees.

"Stop here!" Nick shouted to her over the engine.

Emily quickly brought the bike to a stop in the middle of the road, quite proud of the fact that they fish-tailed only a little. Nick jumped off before the stop was even completed and was now standing behind the bike with his weapon drawn. She shut off the engine, let the bike drop and removed her helmet. On the other side of the bend was the sound of an engine, and it was getting louder.

Panting, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and pulled out her gun. She planted herself next to Nick, her Sig Sauer out and trained on the road behind them. Nick spared her a quick glance before turning his focus back to the road. "Get ready."

A quad bike roared around the bend and they both immediately fired; one of the rounds flinging the rider from his bike as it tumbled across the road, landing in a heap.

Nick and Emily carefully approached the rider, guns still drawn, as he lay unmoving in the dirt, blood pooling around him. Nick cautiously checked for a pulse before shaking his head.

"He's dead."

"Does he have a radio?" She asked.

Nick patted the man's jacket and pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

"Shit! Did he get a good look at you?"

"I don't think so, I stayed in the foliage. By the time he got that quad down the hill, we were already away and I had my helmet on."

"We need to get outta here, now."

Grabbing the man under the arms, Nick began to drag him towards the trees. "We need to get him and the bike off the road first."

Emily jogged over to the crashed quad bike and righted it. After shifting it into neutral, she gave it a mighty push and nudged it further off the road. She nearly had the bike completely hidden when Nick joined her and helped her finish the task.

"You know, we can just hop on that bike and head for the next town. Get away from Andres and this whole mess."

Emily sighed as they made their way back to the bike. "And do what? He took our money, phones, and ID."

"Damn it, you're right. And despite what he says about being out of the business, he probably has contacts in every town that would be looking for us."

Nick groaned at their predicament, and then looked at her in surprise when she swung her leg over the bike seat and grabbed the handle bars. "Hey, I'll drive us back." He stated casually.

Emily snorted at him as she settled her helmet on her head. "Buddy, you nearly got us caught on a reconnaissance run. So you get to ride bitch the rest of the way back."

* * *

"So you're sure he didn't see enough of you to radio in your description?" Andres was pacing back and forth, decidedly unhappy with the latest turn of events, as Nick and Emily emerged from the small bedroom in fresh clothes.

Nick had been trying his best to reassure him since they had arrived back at his cabin. "No. If I couldn't get a good look at him, then he certainly didn't get a good one of me. I had binoculars and he didn't. And no back-up showed up, which leads me to believe that he didn't think he needed to radio it in. He probably thought he would catch me easy enough and take all the glory in bringing my corpse back to the compound."

Andres nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds about right. Well, there's nothing to be done about it now and you both need to leave with Enzo and Juan if you're going to be at the airport to time it when your flight gets in."

Andres escorted them to the car where Enzo and Juan, the muscled dark man were waiting. "There's luggage in the trunk with clothes and essentials for you both. I will be in contact. Good luck."

* * *

Emily swiped the key card and turned the knob, entering the hotel room Andres had reserved for Ryan and Deanna Paige, pulling a wheeled suitcase behind her.

The room was luxurious, with plush carpet and carved wood furniture. A king-sized bed dominated one end of the room and a door opening to the en-suite bathroom showed a marble floor with a Jacuzzi tub and a large, glass shower stall.

"Wow, not bad." Emily remarked as she slung her suitcase onto a luggage rack and opened it.

Nick nodded in agreement, turning in a circle to take in the room. He stopped to watch as Emily rummaged through the clothing in her suitcase. "Is your phone in there?"

She checked all the pockets and sighed. "No, but I found a compact camera. Is it creepy that he knows my size? All of them." She held up a gray French bra before tossing it back into the case. "What about you?"

"No." Nick slammed the case closed in frustration and sat down on the bed, his head in his hands.

"Um…Nick?" He looked up at Emily's voice and saw her holding the receiver of the room phone. "Are you okay? You know most hotels have these now, even the crappy ones." She smirked as he rubbed his head and grinned back at her.

"It's been a long day." He finally said.

She started give him a smart-ass response when a loud knocking at the door startled them both. "This can't be good." She murmured under her breath and watched with wide eyes as Nick moved to answer the door.

Two men stood on the other side of the door. One was tall and bulky; his dark eyes were flat and emotionless and reminded her of a shark. The other was wiry with a shiftiness about him that made Emily immediately uncomfortable.

The wiry man leered at Emily and smirked when Nick took a step towards him. "Javier Moreno wishes to welcome you to Buenaventura. He has also invited you to his plantation for a visit. We are to escort you there now."

"Now?" Nick snarled. "We just got here."

The shark-eyed man snarled as he grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him from the room. "It would be in your best interest to come with us."

* * *

A/N - Thank you for reading.


	5. Chapter 4

_Monday evening_

The ride had been uneventful. Neither of Moreno's thugs had been very talkative and the only information they provided were their names: David, the wiry creep; and Santiago, the shark-eyed bully. Emily had to resist the urge to squirm, the stress and adrenaline making it difficult for her to sit still during the ride. Nick spent most of the ride with his hand covering both of hers to keep her from shredding her left thumb nail.

The Moreno estate was large, and crawling with armed men both in and outside the mansion. Opulence dripped from every entry and corridor they were led through, with a mixture of styles ranging from Traditional to Oriental. The domed ceilings, intricate chandeliers, gilded furniture and exotic artwork were more ostentatious than classy. Javier had obviously done well with the legacy his late father had left him. Of course human trafficking was a very lucrative business.

Santiago pushed them both into a garishly ornate study where they came face to face with Javier Moreno.

"¡Bienvenido a Buenaventura, el señor y la señora Paige!" Javier Moreno was a robust man with dusky skin and a bright smile that dimpled his cheeks. "¿Puedo obtener algo de beber?"

"El Sr. Moreno, llámenos Ryan y Deanna." Emily grasped the proffered hand Javier held out to her and smiled. Nick quickly followed suit. "Y gracias, pero no."

"And you must call me Javier. Please sit, sit." The drug lord effortlessly switched to English as he gestured with his hand to the chairs in front of his desk.

Nick waited for Emily to take a seat and noted Javier's hesitation as David and Santiago stood to flank them on either side. Turning his attention back to their host Nick said, "We were a bit surprised by your invitation, Javier. How did you know we wanted to see you?"

"You came to see me?" Nick and Emily glanced at each other and Emily's eyebrow rose ever so slightly. Javier seemed to be genuinely confused. "What about?"

"We have a new client who has asked us to procure something we don't normally deal with. And from a trusted source, we heard that you might be able to help us with his request."

His interest piqued, Javier raised his eyebrows at Nick. "What is it you need?"

"Women." Emily stated bluntly. "He's interested in buying girls. Young ones."

Javier flicked a quick glance at Santiago before he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, his hands steepled in front of him as he considered Emily. "How young?"

"Mid to late teens. Preferably virgins, but I think if the merchandise was American, he would overlook the lack of virginity."

"I had not realized that the two of you had moved beyond supplying weapons."

"Technically we haven't…yet." Emily explained. "If we are able to fulfill this order, he will deal with us exclusively for his weapons." The lies flowed off Emily's tongue as though she had never left the CIA. Though in fairness, she had done her share of lying to her BAU teammates over the years.

Javier nodded his head. "I may be able to help you, but I would like you to help me as well."

"Go on." Nick replied.

"When I heard of your arrival, I knew I wanted to meet with you. You see, I'm very unhappy with my current supplier and wanted to see if we could work together."

"You want to buy weapons from us?" Emily's incredulous look made Javier chuckle.

"I know you worked for old man Rojas before his untimely death." Javier smirked before continuing. "But my father was envious of the merchandise Andres always managed to get his hands on. Tomorrow, I will take you to see some of my inventory and we can also discuss your own inventory. Maybe we can come to some sort of agreement. ¿Sí?"

* * *

Nick and Emily stumbled into their hotel room that evening, exhausted, hungry and a bit bewildered by the entire situation. Emily gestured to the phone. "Shall we?"

Shaking his head emphatically, Nick grabbed a pad and pen from the desk and began writing rapidly.

_The room was probably bugged while we were out._

Emily's eyes widened slightly before nodding her head. She grabbed the pad from him to respond when he spoke aloud. "Shall we what… take a shower? Sounds like a great idea. Then we can order room service, I'm starving."

_Rojas or Moreno?_

She handed the pad back to Nick as she responded aloud. "You go right ahead, Sweetie."

Nick's lips quirked in amusement at the term of endearment and shook his head. He grabbed the pad and scribbled across the paper as he replied. "I was hoping my beautiful wife would join me."

_My guess is Moreno but Rojas is probably piggy-backing the signal. _

Emily sighed as she walked to the suitcase that was packed for her. After a bit of rummaging she found clean panties and a t-shirt. "I suppose that does sound good, but you have to behave yourself, Ryan. I want to eat then go to bed. We need to be rested when we meet Javier tomorrow." She smirked as Nick made a face at her, and then raised his eyebrows at the panties and t-shirt she took into the bathroom.

He quickly followed and closed the door behind them. Emily had the water running in the shower, testing the temperature with her hand. Once satisfied, she began to remove her clothing.

"You're actually taking a shower? I just suggested it because the running water would mask our conversation." Nick whispered, his eyes widening as her shirt landed on the floor, followed quickly by her bra.

"I know, and yes I'm taking a shower." She whispered back. "After that motorbike ride, we both need it. And put your eyes back in your head, you just saw me naked a few days ago."

Grinning broadly, he quickly shed his clothes as he watched her step into the shower. She sighed with pleasure as the hot water hit her skin. Closing her eyes, Emily tilted her head back and let the water run over her head.

Nick watched her for a moment before he stepped into the large shower stall and opened the small complimentary shampoo bottle. "Turn around." He said softly.

Emily opened her eyes and stared at him for a moment before she complied. "We need to get our hands on a phone." Nick continued to speak in a soft tone as he gently messaged the shampoo into her hair. "Our first priority has to be to get a message to the team."

"Well, we have no money or credit cards. I suppose we could borrow a phone, or steal one." As soon as she said the words, Emily realized their dilemma. "Shit, we're probably being watched, by one or both of them." When he didn't reply a sudden rush of hopelessness seized Emily and she leaned back against Nick. "How are we going to get out of this, Nick?"

"We will." He placed a small kiss on her bare shoulder and then turned her to face him. "Okay, rinse."

He watched as the suds flowed down her slender neck, past her collarbone and down to the curve of her breasts. He abruptly turned his back, shielding her view from the affect she was having on him. He grabbed the shampoo and began to lather his own hair with more vigor than was necessary. Her slim arm was suddenly in his peripheral as she grabbed the shower gel. Unbidden, thoughts of Emily lathering her body flooded his mind, before he quickly banished them in frustration. The woman was going to be the death of him.

"Emily..." He began.

"I'm worried that Andres doesn't have an end plan. This whole thing is so half-assed. I mean, what does he expect us to do once we have evidence that Javier's trafficking girls?"

"We take photos of the girls we think our so-called client would be interested in. Andres had a camera packed in your case. Then we make arrangements for a meeting with Javier in a couple of weeks to allegedly finalize the deal and pick up the merchandise our client has selected. Just like a gun deal. Once we are out of here, we contact Tom and have all of these bastards taken into custody, including Andres. I'm not convinced he doesn't have an ulterior motive other than his concern for missing girls. "

"Do you think Andres will let us leave that easily? Nick, I'm due back at the BAU tomorrow." She frowned at Nick's lack of response. She raised her voice to a slightly louder whisper. "Did you hear me? They think I'm on vacation."

Nick turned to face her, locking his eyes on hers and decidedly not on her wet, soapy body. "I'm sorry Em."

Emily quickly rinsed the soap from her body and slid the front of the shower door open. She grabbed a towel as she stepped out of the stall. "Well, the shit's going to hit the fan when I don't show up at work; they think I'm visiting my mom. They have no idea about my past, Nick" Briefly her thoughts went to Morgan and she cringed as she thought of his reaction to the whole situation. He would take it personally that she had deceived them about her past. Hell, they probably all would. "God, this is such a mess."

He tried not to watch as she towel-dried her body and hair. "You didn't tell them about your trip with the girls?" When she didn't answer, he shook his head and continued. "You say they're your family, yet you don't let them in. Do they even know who you really are? Or are they wrapped in your web of illusion?"

She shot him a glare then wrapped the towel around her body. As she looked back at Nick, Emily flicked her eyes downward. "You need to take care of that. I meant what I said about behaving yourself."

"Give me a break, Em." Nick sighed in frustration. "As much as I would like to drag you back into this shower and fuck you senseless, we have a job to do."

Sliding the glass door closed, Emily cursed inwardly as his words sent a rush of heat to her core. Deciding that she needed to put some distance between the two of them, she quickly turned, hoping he hadn't noticed her reaction, and scooped up her t-shirt and underwear. Behind her, barely audible above the running water, he said, "Besides, we'll have plenty of time for that once we're safely outta here."

* * *

Santiago led Nick and Emily down a path that wound through the shrub behind the Moreno mansion. The large man had barely spoken two words since he arrived at their hotel at eight A.M. sharp to escort them to today's meeting.

The path finally broke through the shrubbery into a small clearing. In the center of the clearing stood Javier and David; the latter's hands were bound behind his back and a piece of bloody cloth gagged his mouth. He was bruised and bleeding profusely from his nose, mouth and various cuts on his body. David really wasn't standing, as much as he was being held upright by Javier.

Immediately, Emily's defenses went up and a quick glance at Nick told her that her partner was also on alert.

"Ah, Ryan and Deanna! I'm afraid our beautiful morning has gotten off to a bad start." Javier stepped away from his bound employee and took no notice as the man fell to the ground.

He approached Nick and Emily. "I'm embarrassed to say that I have a bit of a situation. We've long suspected that we have a mole in our operation. Whether from the local authorities or an agente federal, we didn't know. But last night, Santiago noticed David snapping a picture of the two of you during our meeting. Unfortunately, he had already texted the photo by the time Santiago took the phone from him. We were unable to determine who the text was sent to; it seemed to be a burner phone."

Emily and Nick exchanged a wary glance. To whom would this man be sending their photo? Did he know who they really were? Emily was very concerned that they were about to see a fellow officer murdered. She was even more concerned that Javier would expect them to participate. She had been in similar situations before, establishing herself in her various aliases over the years.

Javier gestured to Santiago, and the large man hauled David to his knees. Javier continued as he watched David struggle to remain conscience. "One of our perimeter guards never checked in yesterday. We are assuming he stumbled upon something he shouldn't have and was killed by this mole."

He spat at David, and pulled a gun from the holster under his jacket. He held it out to Emily. "I give you the honor of disposing of this la rata."

Emily wanted to question the logic of killing a man before any usable information had been extracted from him, but she knew this was as much of a test for her and Nick as it was a means of getting rid of a suspected mole. She tried to stall. "Were you able to get any information from him? Perhaps we shouldn't kill him just yet. I would like to know who our photo was sent to."

"He won't talk. Santiago's been working him since last night." He held the gun out to Emily again; his expression said he wouldn't be swayed in his decision.

"No, he's mine."

Nick took the .357 Magnum revolver from Javier and advanced towards the battered man. It was his idea to bring Emily into this, and damned if he was going to stand here and let her be forced to murder someone.

"No!"

Nick stopped short at Javier's command.

"I want Deanna to have the honor."

Nick seethed inwardly; he knew this was a sort of trial. And forcing him to allow Emily to do the killing was Javier's way of extending his dominance over them.

Emily took the gun from Nick without a word and moved behind David and Santiago. David was now openly weeping, his sobs muffled by the gag still firmly in his mouth.

Swallowing down the bile that threatened at the back of her throat, Emily cocked the gun and pointed it at the back of David's head. She returned Javier's stare and held it with a cold glare of her own as she calmly pulled the trigger.

* * *

A/N – Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Translations :

Bienvenido a Buenaventura, el señor y la señora Paige = Welcome to Buenaventura, Mr. and Mrs. Paige

¿Puedo obtener algo de beber? = Can I get you something to drink?

El Sr. Moreno, llámenos Ryan y Deanna = Mr. Moreno, call us Ryan and Deanna

Y gracias, pero no = And thanks, but no


	6. Chapter 5

_Tuesday Midday_

Their drive to see the merchandise was also made in darkness as Nick and Emily were once again forced to wear blindfolds. The quiet drive allowed Emily's mind to relive the events that happened after she killed David.

After the execution of his employee, Javier had insisted that they join him for brunch before their drive to see the girls for sale. The drug lord was in an especially good mood. Apparently Nick and Emily had passed his test and Javier spent the meal discussing weapon inventory, pricing and availability. Surprisingly, very little was said about the girls they were going to see and every time Nick tried to steer the conversation to the merchandise they needed, Javier quickly changed it back to weapons when Santiago entered the room. Emily had let Nick handle the conversation while she shuffled the food around her plate with a fork, as she pulled the trigger over and over again in her mind.

A jarring pothole in the road brought Emily's mind to the present when she was knocked into Nick. While she attempted to right herself, she realized the blindfold had slid down enough to uncover her right eye. She quickly peeked out the passenger window on Nick's side, but no landmarks stood out for her; just an endless sea of trees.

Stifling her frustration she slowly sat the rest of the way up, careful not to draw attention to herself and her naked right eye. She faltered for a moment as her gaze fell to Javier, who was also blindfolded as he sat in the passenger seat. Santiago was at the wheel and Emily could see his cold eyes in the rear-view mirror, scanning the road ahead of them. She quickly ducked her head before he could sense her eye on him.

What the hell was going on? Javier doesn't know the location of the merchandise, but Santiago does? Who was really running this operation? Obviously there were details that Nick and Emily were missing, either left out by Andres or he was unaware of them himself. Emily suspected the later.

She reached over and clasped Nick's hand, grateful for his presence. Sensing her agitation and wondering at the sudden cause, he leaned into her offering his support.

The car suddenly made a turn and Emily peered out the window as they drove down a narrow winding road that led over a small creek and finally stopped in front of a large, gray one-story building made of cinder blocks. As Santiago brought the car to a stop, Emily dropped her head and pretended to scratch her temple as she quickly worked the blindfold back over her eye. After a few moments the doors were opened and Nick and Emily were led inside of the building and Santiago roughly removed their blindfolds.

Emily felt a surge of dread as she looked up into his apathetic eyes before he stepped away from her. She realized that at any moment Santiago would kill them both if he felt the need was there – without any hesitation. Javier's desire to conduct business with them was of no consequence to him, and would do little to protect them. They had thought Javier was the dangerous one. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Javier's voice broke Emily's gaze from Santiago, and the large man followed the guard on duty to another room.

"Now the girls we are showing you here are our newest acquired. They have not yet been put through any training, so if your client wants to break the merchandise himself, these girls would be your best option."

"Where does the training take place?" Nick asked. "Do you have more than one facility?"

"The training facility is located on another compound and we have a viewing facility for the girls who have been trained and are ready for sale, also on that compound." Javier replied. "Ah, here we are."

Nick and Emily turned as Santiago led a line of girls into the main room. She counted twelve as the girls filed past her. What clothes they wore were torn and dirty, their hair knotted to their heads. And they were all young; Emily doubted none of them were above the age of 20, and they were clearly drugged. Dull eyes of every color stared blankly as they were arranged in a neat line for Nick and Emily's viewing.

Emily tried and failed to hide her revulsion and anger, and though she knew it could mean their undoing, she felt almost relieved when she saw Nick struggling as well.

"Are they not to your liking? We can clean up any girls you might be interested in." Javier cocked his head as he studied them, while Santiago narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Nick smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pad and pen which Emily noted vaguely, had come from their hotel room, and the camera they had found in her luggage. "I already see a few that I know our client would be interested in. Do you mind if I take a few pictures?" At Javier's nod of approval, Nick began jotting in his notepad as he approached the girls, inspecting each one and snapping photos as though they weren't human, only merchandise for the highest bidder.

Rather than watch Nick's charade, Emily stepped next to Javier and smiled. "If we don't find what we are looking for here, how long will it take us to see your other facility?"

Javier hesitated before he answered. "We have only the one other holding place for private buyers to select from." He patted her shoulder. "Don't you worry your lovely head. I'm sure we will have something that will satisfy your client. Tomorrow I have other business to attend to, but Santiago and I can take you to our other facility Thursday morning. I suspect this is the beginning of a fruitful arrangement for all of us."

Emily made a noncommittal noise as Nick joined them, aware of Santiago's scrutiny as he helped usher the girls into the back.

"Well?" Javier asked as Nick tucked the camera and notepad into his pocket. "Are any of them to your liking?"

"The two green-eyed blondes should interest him. I'll send him the photos once we get back to our hotel. I assume they are disease free?"

"Of course. All are tested and any diseased merchandise is disposed of." Javier grinned as he motioned them towards the door. "Santiago will drive you back to the hotel. I have business to attend to back at the compound."

Emily and Nick followed Santiago back to their car. As the blindfold was slipped over Nick's head, Emily took one last glance back at the building. Her heart ached for the poor souls inside and she wanted nothing more than to free every one of them. A shoot-out that would probably lead to their deaths wasn't the answer, but she vowed she was going to find one.

Javier exited the building with another one of his men and gave her a quick wave as he made his way to another car. Emily tried to muster a smile in return, but was saved from that farce when Santiago grabbed her roughly and turned her around. Once again his cold eyes bored into her and it was as if those eyes were peering into her soul; peeling back the layers until she was laid bare for him. She cast her eyes downward before he could see the truth in them; the lie that was the truth.

He grunted and placed the blindfold over her eyes before shoving her into the backseat with Nick. Once inside Nick reached blindly for her hand. "Are you okay?"

Emily refrained from answering when she heard the front door open. Instead she clutched Nick's hand like it was her lifeline and leaned slightly against him as the car began to move.

* * *

Their blindfolds had been abandoned as soon as they had entered the city and as the car came to a stop in front of their hotel, Nick had to fight the urge to drag Emily away from the vehicle and Santiago. Though she was doing an excellent job at hiding it, he had known her for far too long not notice her increasing distress around the large man.

He slammed the car door behind him, relieved to be rid of the henchman, only to be dragged by Emily towards the hotel. "What's going on?" He asked, as she pulled open the door to the hotel.

Emily stopped just inside the vestibule and watched as Santiago's car pulled away. "Javier's not in charge."

"What?" Nick exclaimed as she exited the vestibule and walked towards the street. "Where are you going?"

"We need to find a car and follow him." She moved down the line of cars parked along the street, testing the door handles as she passed.

"I don't have any tools with me."

"I've got my knife. I can pop off an ignition switch, then…" Emily stopped suddenly and grabbed Nick by the shirt, nodding to a plump man hurrying away from his still running car towards a take-out restaurant.

"Let's go!" She released her grip and scrambled to the driver's side of the car. After a startled hesitation, Nick swore under his breath as he jumped into the passenger seat, barely getting the door shut as Emily peeled away from the curb.

"Are you insane or are you just trying to get us killed?" Nick grabbed the dashboard as Emily swerved around a car, barely missing the truck in the next lane. "Okay, getting us killed it is then."

Emily's brows furrowed in concentration as she weaved their borrowed car through the congested, four-lane city street. She knew this might be their only chance to follow Santiago and she wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. A sudden swarm of brake lights warned that their lane was slowing down and Emily gunned the accelerator and changed into another lane, cutting off another vehicle. "Goddamn it!" She cried as she changed lanes once again and blasted the horn at an unsuspecting motorist.

"Emily!" Nick's knuckles were white where he gripped the dash and his right leg kept trying to stomp on a brake that wasn't there. Erratic, dangerous driving was the norm for citizens of this city, but Emily seemed hell-bent on putting them to shame. "Tell me what's going on!"

His partner huffed in exasperation, her eyes searching past the cars in front of them. Suddenly her face lit up. "There he is."

Nick saw the luxury vehicle three cars ahead of them, in the far right lane, and drew a silent breath of relief when Emily slowed down to match the speed of the cars around her.

"On the drive to see the girls my blindfold fell partly off." Emily began, keeping a safe distance between their car and Santiago's. "Javier was also blindfolded. He doesn't know where the girls are kept any more than we do. I think Santiago is in charge."

She glanced over at Nick as he considered what she said. "This changes everything." He told her as she nodded her head. "And it's considerably more dangerous."

"What do we tell Andres?" She asked.

"We don't really have anything yet… Em."

"Yeah, I see him." Santiago had pulled his car into a vacant spot and parked. Emily drove by slowly as the man walked to the entrance of a small coffee shop. She made a U-turn at the next light and drove back, finding a spot across the street to park.

"Who do you think she is?" Emily wondered as they watched Santiago through the shop's front window as he talked animatedly to a dark haired woman.

"His lover?" Nick guessed. "If so, he's a lucky man."

Emily snorted, but had to agree that the woman had a sort of sultry beauty. All the more reason she couldn't imagine her as Santiago's lover. But if not his lover, then who was she? Was she somehow a part of Javier Moreno's cartel?

After several minutes of conversation, Santiago reached over and stroked the woman's cheek before leaning in for a passionate kiss. Emily turned to Nick, who raised an eyebrow at her. "She obviously has no taste." He proclaimed.

They both hunched down in their seats as Santiago exited the coffee shop and drove away. Emily started the car followed for a few miles, until it became apparent he was headed out of town and back to the Moreno compound. With a frustrated scowl, she changed her course to take them back to the hotel, while her mind replayed the events of the day. "So that's it? Our one chance to follow him and he's just meeting up with the woman he's screwing?"

"What were you hoping to find, Em?"

"If Javier isn't in charge of his own Cartel, then who is? It appears to be Santiago, but he's a thug, who doesn't seem to have the brains to run a cartel. And if he's not working for Javier, then who is he working for?"

Nick had no answers for her. Emily turned her eyes back to the traffic ahead of her and muttered despondently. "This really sucks."

She parked the car a block from the hotel and they quickly made their way back to their room, both of them pretending not to notice the two separate men in the lobby, noting their arrival as they had every day they had been here. The fact that they were being continually watched was really grating on Emily's nerves

Nick kept a concerned eye on Emily as he led them into their room. There was tightness around her eyes that he knew was the beginning of a headache. Her shoulders slumped in fatigue. The stress of the past few days was affecting them both. He then remembered the blank look she wore immediately after shooting David that morning. Tonight would be another night of fitful sleep, if they managed any.

He sighed as he pushed the door open and stroked her back gently when she walked past him. Closing the door behind them, Nick stopped suddenly, his mouth gaping at a flip phone and note that lay on the table. Emily reached for the note as Nick snatched the phone and read the words over her shoulder.

_I know I'm asking a lot from both you and your business by keeping you from your other clients. Consider this a show of my faith in our arrangement. One of my men will be by this evening to escort you to my cabin for an update. –A_

They exchanged a silent look as Nick quickly took the phone apart, checking for bugs. He shook his head at Emily and quickly assembled the phone. They both walked directly to the bathroom and closed the door. Emily turned on both taps as Nick powered up the phone.

The number he dialed was one Nick knew from memory. His heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears, nearly drowning out the sound of the phone ringing. He reached out and pulled Emily into him, anchoring himself to her as he silently pleaded with his friend. _Come on, Tom. Answer the damn phone._

* * *

When JJ first heard they would be meeting Emily's old team at a CIA safe house, the image of an abandoned warehouse, far away from prying eyes had flitted across her imagination. Those images were quickly shattered when their two rented Toyota SUVs pulled into the parking lot of Magia Taco Shop, just a few blocks away from the Pacific shoreline and under the flight path for LAX. Above the restaurant was, at one time, a two bedroom apartment. Now it served as a fully functioning safe house. The entire upper-level was soundproofed and one bedroom was entirely sealed away from prying eyes, behind an electric keypad.

JJ couldn't help but wonder at what else the apartment held that they weren't privy to and a small shiver went down her spine with the realization that this used to be Emily's world. And somehow she had been drawn back into it.

Both teams now sat at the dining room table, eating lunch courtesy of the taco shop below. JJ picked at her taco salad as she tried to covertly study Dean and Tom. It seemed surreal to her that they were sitting with the team who had been such a large part of Emily's former life. And according to Morgan, were still a part of her life. A life they knew nothing about. Did Tom know who Emily's first love was? Did Emily ever confide in Dean when she was unsure of a mission? Have they ever seen her vulnerable; held her as she cried? Right now, JJ was realizing that she had never known or experienced any of those things with the woman she considered her friend over the past few years. JJ caught Morgan's troubled gaze and knew similar questions were burning in his mind. She brought her focus back to the conversation happening around her.

"Once they'd been gone for a few hours without checking in, we called their cells." Dean's frustration was evident in his tone and he barely touched the food in front of him.

"When we didn't get a response, we went to the house Andres was renting. The place seemed empty, so we entered." Tom was also frustrated, but focused. Now that he knew where Emily and Nick were and that they were alive, he was determined to bring them home as quickly as possible.

"But they were gone." Rossi responded. It wasn't a question; they already knew the answer.

Tom nodded. "Yeah. Both of their phones were left behind, but Nick and Emily as well as Andres and his men were gone. We checked private planes and ships leaving Los Angeles. Several were leaving to South America and Mexico, but we still didn't know where Andres has been for the past eleven years or why he suddenly re-emerged."

"Not until we got that photograph this morning." Samantha added.

"I still don't understand that." Hotch furrowed his eyes as he looked at Tom. "If Andres took them, how did they end up with Javier Moreno? Wasn't his father Andres' biggest rival?"

Dean was the one to answer Hotch. "We have no idea. And the not knowing is what's so damn scary."

"The only way we're going to find out is to go to Buenaventura. We would have been gone already, but our handler told us to wait for you." Both Tom and Dean's frustration stemmed from the fact that they should have been on their way to Colombia by now.

"We're going with you!" Morgan proclaimed. There was no way in hell they were leaving him behind. Emily needed him; she needed the team.

Tom looked across the table at Hotch, who met his gaze with a stern glare. "You can't all go. We have no idea what we will be up against once we get there, and I don't think your team has had much covert or special ops experience." He glanced at JJ and Reid.

JJ bristled at Tom's statement, though she had to admit she didn't have training in those areas. She looked at Reid, who seemed almost relieved he wouldn't be allowed to go.

"I'll stay." Dean said suddenly and Tom looked at him in surprise. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I was only brought in because I was the leader of the original mission. You need someone here to follow up with the homeless shelter and to liaise with the DOJ."

Though he really wanted Dean with him, Tom nodded his head. His former team leader was no longer a field operative and he did need someone here to keep the DOJ off their backs.

"Reid, you and JJ stay here with Dean and see if you can figure out what Andres was doing at the homeless shelter." Hotch gestured to Rossi and Morgan as he turned and spoke to Tom. "I would like you to take the three of us with you."

Tom nodded his head before turning to his newest operative. "Samantha, help Dean make the arrangements. I want us to be in the air within the hour. If history is any indication, I can only imagine what kind of trouble those two have gotten themselves into."

* * *

_A/N – For those who are still with me, thank you for reading and for being patient. I'm trying to keep a couple of chapters ahead of this so I don't write myself into a corner. So we had a little bit of the two teams in this chapter. There will be a lot more of them in the chapters to come. : ) _


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